The story
Read it all →How Henning came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Henning.
Henning was incorporated in 1887, and named for John O. Henning, a pharmacist.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
–Not graded
History · Henning
Henning’s post office opened in 1881, and 29% of its homes were built before 1940
Its Register listings are the Trinity Lutheran Church and the Lewis House and Medical Office. Below: maps from 1969 on and the census since 1890.
1881first post office
2on the National Register
29%homes built before 1940
Quick answers
How Henning began
When was Henning founded?
1881
The Henning post office opened in 1881, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1887.
First census: 254 in 18902020 census: 854145 years
Founding year: the first Henning post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1887.The full story ↓
What stands out about Henning’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
★ What stands out · Help out
Start Henning’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Henning’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.From the old history books
What they wrote about Henning in 1916
Passages that mention Henning, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Otter Tail County, Minnesota1916Read the page →
Read the text
months. After that he was the agent at Kilbernie. North Dakota, for two years and after that, at Kuhn, North Dakota, for six months. He was operator at the front during the construction of the railroad from Ottertail, Minnesota, to the Canadian boundary and. on July 8, 1904, came to Henning, tins county. With the exception of three months spent at Colorado Springs, lie has been stationed at Henning continuously ever since. While at Colorado Springs he was both the operator and ticket agent.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Otter Tail County, Minnesota1916 · page 470Read the page →
Read the text
Henning township. \fter a time he sold this farm and moved to Girard township, where he purchased three hundred and sixt) acres For the next sixteen years he lived in Girard township, but this farm was sold in r8o8, at which time Mr Hanson moved to Henning. He nov >>wns two hundred acres of land, "tie hundred and -i-!\ acres of winch is located within the corporation limits of the town of Henning. Having rebuilt his house, Mr.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
By decade
Henning, decade by decade
2019
2019
2019
2019
2005On the map
Henning on the map, 1969 to 1986
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Henning. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1969Henning sheet · 1:24,000U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Henning.
On the National Register
2 historic places in Henning
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
3
each building in a district counts
first listed
2018
Trinity Lutheran Church
Buildings
All 2 listings
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
People over time
Henning, census by census
Between 254 and 1,004 people in every census since 1890.
14 censuses, 1890–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Henning’s Wikipedia page.
Famous people
See all →Famous people close to Henning
Nobody well known was born in Henning itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Places that used to be
Old burying grounds
Henning’s post office has been open since 1881.
4cemeteries and burying grounds inside Henning
HenningSaint PaulTrinity Lutheran ChurchUnited
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about Henning’s history
What year was Henning founded?
The Henning post office opened in 1881, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1887.
What is on the National Register in Henning?
Two places: the Trinity Lutheran Church (listed 2018) and the Lewis House and Medical Office (2021).
Memory lane
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
Start a conversation
Sources
Where this page comes from
Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →
From Wikimedia Commons (5), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (2), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.